Archive for February, 2012

You know how when you shop on Amazon there is a price and a then a “list price” which is usually much higher?

The effect is that you feel like you’re getting a big discount shopping on Amazon.

It turns out Amazon might be publishing list prices that are too high.

Mouse Print first noticed the problem with an array of general consumer products such as Kraft’s Mac & Cheese and a 100-count box of Splenda.

As if this afternoon, most of these prices have been fixed, except for a ton of pet food items.

Take for example the dog treats you see above. The retail value of one Merrick Flossies is approximately $4, making a 50-count supply valued at no more than $200. Yet Amazon claims the list price stands at a whopping $422.89, more than doubled what it should cost.

We tried to contact Amazon for comments, but did not receive a response.

The incident reminds us of last year when Amazon listed a seemingly normal book about flies for $23,698,655.93. Biologist Michael Eisen blogged about the unrealistic selling price, and documented how Amazon’s price for the book The Making of a Fly constantly went up day after another.

Here’s what happened: A professor required this book for a class and students naturally flocked to Amazon to purchase the text. Eventually, only two sellers still had the product available.

Because the book quickly became an exclusive, hot ticket item, Amazon’s algorithm for retailers to competitively price their product catapulted the retail value to more than $23 million.

We’re not sure if this is the same situation with the pet food offerings on the site, but it seems hard to believe the world is running out of doggie treats.

Deli Cat Dry Cat Food

Ok, we know having pets can be expensive but you can’t fool us, Amazon.

Higgins Celestial Blend Bird Food

Who can resist 89 percent off retail list price? Only ten left in stock!

Redbarn Filled Bone – Peanut Butter

Dog foods are getting so fancy these days, but at $6.70, the bone’s a steal.

Business Insider Intelligence is a new research and analysis service for real-time insight and intelligence about the Internet industry. The product is currently in beta. For more information, and to sign up for a free 30-day trial, click here.

Data is starting to trickle in and shape our understanding of the nascent mobile ad market. According to data from Flurry Analytics, 25- to 34-year-old females are the most valuable demographic for advertisers and publishers (as measured by the underlying click-through and conversion rates).

Intel estimates that by 2014, cars will be one of the top three fastest-growing markets for connected devices and Internet content. That eventually gives Intel an opportunity to put more of its chips in a whole new place: cars.

As an Intel manager put it in the press release announcing the fund: “The car is the ultimate mobile device.”

Last week, The Daily reported that Kanye West‘s charity spent more than a half-million dollars in 2010—but none of that money went to actual charitable causes.

After analyzing federal tax filings, the iPad newspaper found that in 2010, the Kanye West Foundation had expenditures totaling $572,383, but the majority of that went to employee salaries and other overhead expenses.

The charity didn’t even donate a single cent to an actual charity that year. And now, West’s foundation is in the process of being dissolved.

Since it’s easy to get bogged down in the numbers, Statista took The Daily’s findings and compiled information from the foundation’s tax filings to create the below infographic explaining where Kanye West’s money went and what happened to his so-called charity foundation. Complete with West’s stunner shades, obviously.

I’m drinking coffee made by a K-Cup machine right now and it sucks. A lot. But alas, I’m too lazy to get a much better cup at the cafe around the corner. That said, after learning that all of those K-Cups are piling up in landfills—and not being recycled—I may have to reconsider.

According to CNBC, the way K-Cups are constructed, they can’t be recycled. Paper and foil are strongly adhered to the plastic capsule making so that sorting facilities can’t separate the materials. So those cups are destined for a single use and nothing more.

So yeah, maybe you hate yourself (like I do), and don’t care what you consume. But maybe you shouldn’t hate the planet more than you hate yourself? [CNBC via Discovery via Treehugger]

When I looked at my own Facebook Timeline, to my horror I saw Pinterest had followed people I didnt know and definitely did NOT follow AND it posted it to my Facebook Timeline. No wonder I keep getting notices of other people following me — people I don’t know or others whom I have not interacted with for years!.

The more I use Pinterest the more I HATE it. See my previous post about Pinterest auto-following 274 Facebook friends when I signed up, without first checking with me.

Digital Consigliere

Dr. Augustine Fou is Digital Consigliere to marketing executives, advising them on digital strategy and Unified Marketing(tm). Dr Fou has over 17 years of in-the-trenches, hands-on experience, which enables him to provide objective, in-depth assessments of their current marketing programs and recommendations for improving business impact and ROI using digital insights.